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More Ohio women in prison than ever before

Jona Ison
8:53 a.m. EDT August 3, 2014

Drug-related crimes in rural counties fuel increase

Inmate students observe a moment of silence or prayer before class in the Tapestry program at the Ohio Reformatory for Women. The program, which takes 12-16 months to complete, is aimed at changing behaviors and bolstering cognitive development of women with substance abuse problems or those suffering from trauma related to physical or sexual abuse. James Miller/The Marion Star(Photo: James Miller/The Marion Star)

Last month, Ohio set a record for the number of women behind bars, and drugs are to blame, officials said.

State prisons director Gary Mohr said he is alarmed by the increasing number of women in prison, which hit an all-time high the week of July 7 with 4,160 women, eclipsing the record of 4,132 set the week before.

The population first crested 4,000 in June 2013 and has typically remained above that number, regularly changing the record high, especially during the past two months. Drug charges in rural counties are fueling the increase, he said.

"These ladies are highly drug addicted. ... The majority of these folks have crimes with their male counterparts, and they're often not the lead folks in this," Mohr said.

Cramped quarters

Although female prisoners are typically less violent than male prisoners, Mohr describes the institutions as depressing, crowded and concerning.

"I think of their kids. This is not just them. Children of the incarcerated are six times more likely to be incarcerated themselves," Mohr said.

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Lyndsay Burkley is a recent graduate of the Tapestry program at the Ohio Reformatory for Women. The program, which takes 12-16 months to complete, is aimed at changing behaviors and bolstering cognitive development of women with substance abuse problems or those suffering from trauma related to physical or sexual abuse. James Miller/The Marion Star James Miller/The Marion Star

Lyndsay Burkley is writing a book detailing her experiences as an inmate at the Ohio Reformatory for Women in Marysville. Burkley, who is serving 4 years and 11 months for burglary related to a heroin addiction, is earning college credits in prison, with plans on enrolling at the Ohio State University in Marion to earn a degree in psychology. James Miller/The Marion Star James Miller/The Marion Star

Inmate students asked to be called on in the Tapestry program at the Ohio Reformatory for Women. The program, which takes 12-16 months to complete, is aimed at changing behaviors and bolstering cognitive development of women with substance abuse problems or those suffering from trauma related to physical or sexual abuse. James Miller/The Marion Star James Miller/The Marion Star

The Ohio Reformatory for Women, founded in 1916, houses 2544 women and serves as an entry point for all of women entering the corrections system in Ohio. Eighty percent of women entering the system in Ohio are convicted of drug procession, drug trafficking, or theft related to drug addiction. James Miller/The Marion Star James Miller/The Marion Star

Inmate students observe a moment of silence or prayer before class in the Tapestry program at the Ohio Reformatory for Women. The program, which takes 12-16 months to complete, is aimed at changing behaviors and bolstering cognitive development of women with substance abuse problems or those suffering from trauma related to physical or sexual abuse. James Miller/The Marion Star James Miller/The Marion Star

Inmate students observe a moment of silence or prayer before class in the Tapestry program at the Ohio Reformatory for Women. The program, which takes 12-16 months to complete, is aimed at changing behaviors and bolstering cognitive development of women with substance abuse problems or those suffering from trauma related to physical or sexual abuse. James Miller/The Marion Star James Miller/The Marion Star

Female offenders walk to class or job details at The Ohio Reformatory for Women on Friday, Aug. 1, 2014. The reformatory, founded in 1916, houses 2544 women and serves as an entry point for all of women entering the corrections system in Ohio. Eighty percent of women entering the system in Ohio are convicted of drug procession, drug trafficking, or theft related to drug addiction. James Miller/The Marion Star James Miller/The Marion Star

Female offenders walk to class or job details at The Ohio Reformatory for Women on Friday, Aug. 1, 2014. The reformatory, founded in 1916, houses 2544 women and serves as an entry point for all of women entering the corrections system in Ohio. Eighty percent of women entering the system in Ohio are convicted of drug procession, drug trafficking, or theft related to drug addiction. James Miller/The Marion Star James Miller/The Marion Star

Female offenders tutor other inmates or create crafts as part of their community service requirements in the re-intergration ward at The Ohio Reformatory for Women on Friday, Aug. 1, 2014. The reformatory, founded in 1916, houses 2544 women and serves as an entry point for all of women entering the corrections system in Ohio. Eighty percent of women entering the system in Ohio are convicted of drug procession, drug trafficking, or theft related to drug addiction. James Miller/The Marion Star James Miller/The Marion Star

Female offenders tutor other inmates or create crafts as part of their community service requirements in the re-intergration ward at The Ohio Reformatory for Women on Friday, Aug. 1, 2014. The reformatory, founded in 1916, houses 2544 women and serves as an entry point for all of women entering the corrections system in Ohio. Eighty percent of women entering the system in Ohio are convicted of drug procession, drug trafficking, or theft related to drug addiction. James Miller/The Marion Star James Miller/The Marion Star

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Some of the children will be born in prison. According to the monthly prison report, there are 31 women pregnant and three women with babies in the nursery at the Ohio Reformatory for Women in Marysville.

The maximum capacity at the state's three female prisons, located in Dayton, Cleveland and Marysville, is 4,266.

Although the overall capacity hasn't been hit, the Northeast Reintegration Center in Cleveland was at 160 percent of its capacity, according to the July 28 population count. Marysville sat at 77 percent capacity, and the Dayton Correctional Institution, which was double-bunked and transitioned to women in 2012, was at 94 percent capacity.

"The population is ballooning, and the density is getting to a point I don't like," Mohr said. "If our job is to reduce recidivism among those we touch, just jamming more of these nonviolent folks in here, I think, is a real concern."

In 2011, in an effort to reduce prison populations, sentencing reform began directing first-time, low-level felony offenders toward community programs. Comparing fiscal year 2010, the year before the law went into effect, with 2014, there has been a 12 percent drop in new incarcerations.

During the past two fiscal years, however, that number has been moving back up; there has been a combined 11 percent increase in the number of women sent to prison, which, though not wiping out the drop attributed to sentencing reform, has counteracted the previous trend.

Although there are fewer offenders going to prison than several years ago, fiscal year 2014 saw a 47 percent increase in the number of low-level felony offenders committed than the previous year, keeping prison populations high.

Couple that with no significant changes in the number of more serious offenders with sentences averaging two to six years and you have the recipe for total population growth.

Meanwhile, the male population hasn't seen similar growth. Last fiscal year, there was a 2 percent decrease in the number of men committed, which followed a 2 percent increase.

Addiction fuels increase

The bulk of the charges are drug-related, and the increase has been fueled by burglaries and illegal manufacturing of drugs.

Since fiscal year 2003, the number of women sent to prison with burglary or attempted burglary as the most serious offense has increased 113 percent; the number of women sentenced for making meth has increased 1,040 percent.

Although meth-making also has been on the rise for men — there has been a 473 percent increase since 2003 — Ohio Judicial Conference Director Mark Schweikert said heroin continues to be the primary concern statewide.

"This heroin problem is a tremendous problem. I hear it reported from judges all over the state, and I don't think it has a preference for gender," Schweikert said.

The 99 women Scioto County sent to prison last fiscal year constituted the most per capita in the state — 25 per 10,000 women — and that total is more than twice the number from year before. The majority of charges, 38 percent, were third-degree felonies.

Scioto County Sheriff Marty Donini said the increase is no surprise as opioids continue to be a huge problem despite the state's focus to pump resources into the southern Ohio community touted as being hit hardest by the opioid epidemic.

"We're seeing a lot more often females are being used as mules to transport narcotics from one location to another or they're present during drug sales," Donini said.

Although pain clinics have been replaced by treatment clinics, Donini said, the Suboxone used to treat the addiction has become a problem and is regularly sold on the street.

"I'm not so sure we've accomplished anything," he said.

Since 2000, Mohr said, there has been a 418 percent increase in the number of people sent to prison for addiction to heroin and opioids.

Community answers

Mohr said he believes the answer to the ballooning number of women in Ohio's prison is the same as for men: Judges need to be sentencing more people to community-based alternatives instead of prison.

"I don't know from a research standpoint or analytically that putting people in prison is a nexus to their offense, to getting them better, to improving public safety," Mohr said.

In rural counties, choices are fewer when it comes to community options, especially inpatient drug treatment, so it's not surprising they tend to send more women to prison out of the total female population.

In fiscal year 2014, Fairfield County sent seven out of every 10,000 women, whereas the state's largest three counties sent between two and and four women per 10,000; the state sent five.

The problem communities struggle with, however, is finding funding for those resources while the department of correction struggles with providing more money for community programs because of the growing population.

"It's like a big ship out in the ocean that's carrying a lot of weight — you can't turn right right away. The challenge is: 'How can we start to get this population down, which allows us to expand more resources to the community?' " Mohr said.